THE ANTIDRUG campaign has become the government’s preoccupation all this time. But it should be recalled that during President Duterte’s first State of the Nation Address, he put on the same level as the war on drugs the fight against human trafficking.
The government claims some success in the drug war but admits there’s still a long way to go. What about the war against human trafficking?
Are we losing the war against human traffickers? Despite the enactment of Republic Act 9208, or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act which was passed in 2003, the government has not eradicated the phenomenon of human trafficking. The growing poverty, unemployment and landless exponentially increase the vulnerability most especially of women and children to sex trafficking. Because of their dire economic situation, many young women are forced into working as entertainers, or worse, being trafficked for sex slavery for their families to survive.
The Philippines is a signatory to various international statutes and instrumentalities including the United Nations (UN) Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and their families and the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime: all of which compel us to address the situation head on.
There is also an urgent need to act on proposed legislation that will give women and their families respite from poverty and in the process reduce their vulnerability to trafficking and gender violence.
There’s a need to review the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act. There are clear weaknesses in how the law is being implemented and the paltry fines and penalties do not serve as a deterrent to traffickers. We should introduce amendments that will aid and protect victims so that they may pursue cases against traffickers without fear of retaliation.
We should not lose the war against human trafficking.
